Csodalámpa - Óhaj-Sóhaj Kivánságteljesítő Alapítvány

Diana is 12 years old, and she lives in Tereske. She spends a lot of time on the kidney unit of the I. Pediatric Clinic.

Her wish was a laptop that she can use while she is in the hospital for her treatments, and during her long travels between her home and the hospital.

The generous donation of the students and teachers of the American International School of Budapest made it possible to grant Diana's wish.

We gave the laptop to Diana on November 25th. With the help of a teacher and 2 students of the American School we were able to surprise Diana and make her a very happy girl.

Many thanks for the support of AISB Walk-the-Wish program!

Such reports are difficult to start, as the trips are always the most exciting at the beginning. Meeting at Ferihegy at 4.15 in the morning promised noting good – I expected tired, crabby kids and grouchy fathers. In contrast with it, I found two brilliant, smiling and exated guys as I met Tomi and Bence. There was no trace of blues, sleeplessness - and certainly not the disease.
And to jump right to the end to summarize one of the most fantastic results of the work of Csodalámpa: it is able to achieve something that neither medicine nor therapy nor doctors can do – it can make the children and moreover their parents forget for a few hours or a few days about the disease of their lives. Even the journey was a special experience, because as it turned out, none of the children had ever gone by air, so from the security check to the duty free shops, every moment meant a whole new world. Then when we left the terminal at Barcelona and we felt in our faces the warmth of 20 C in December (I put it in writing that everyone can understand: a twenty-degree heat), that time we all knew that we would have a great time there.

We took a taxi to get to the hotel, and a few minutes later we were already on the way towards Barcelona's famous zoo. A bit later we found the first orange tree, from which we could get a couple of oranges with the help of a stone – somebody growing up in Hungary can never get used to such an experience...

Soon we managed to get in the famous dolphin show and I have to admit that I – as an adult who has already seen a lot – was also clapping with an open mouth and shining eyes along the program. Kids were full of experiences as we were walking along the palm-lined downtown and we slowly reached the La Rambla (Vaci street of Barcelona), destination of all self-respecting tourists, where you can get everything but really everything. Certainly we were mostly interested in shirts and scarves of Barcelona because we couldn’t go to the evening match wearing simple civil suits...
It was already dark, a few minutes after 7.00 pm when, following the crowd, we arrived at Europe's biggest stadium, the Nou Camp to be held in reverence by Barcelona fans. Thanks to our generous sponsors, we had the opportunity to go into the monumental building, and after walking about 8 floors we reached our places and we could finally see the stadium in its full size. After the match started and Barcelona FC got the first goal - well, I think that was the time when the boys could realize that they were really there. And all their friends were just sitting and watching TV at home as usually, but they were sitting in the stadium...

Barca had another three (!) goals, so the final result was 4:0, which exceeded even the wildest dreams. We were so tired that evening that there was a fear we all would fall asleep in the tiny elevator. But that time we had no idea what kind of experiences would await us next day. We planned our daily program together as the day before and of course nothing could be more important than to return to the scene of the brilliant victory and to pay for a stadium tour. We couldn’t even reach the gate when we got in the official gift shop - there was really everything that a Barca fan could ever desire - and even much more!

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And the highlight of the whole journey arrived - the stadium tour. It was so professional, so rich, so fascinating, as the trip showed us the club’s more than 100 years of history and all the important and interesting moments. I am sure that people who are not interested in football at all, can also enjoy the "sanctuary".

We spent nearly five hours in the stadium - and I can tell you honestly, we all wished we would have more time... but we didn’t have because we didn’t want to miss either the Sagrada Familia nor the beach. So we took the metro again, then we were running, eating, taking photos, laughing a lot and talking about how incredible that they were there: those two boys from Baja and Szombathely, who had already spent hundreds of times in different hospitals than an average man throughtout his life. And now they were running free from care on the sandy beach of Barcelona, leaving their winter clothes at home and talking about the goals that were shot last evening by their favourite football team – in front of their eyes, only a few meters from the place where they were sitting.

This journey was an incredible gift - to the children, their parents - and of course to me too. The Wonder Lamp works, it makes magics, and it is really a miracle - not just fulfilling wishes, but changing lives - and in fact this is the greatest miracle.

Viva Barcelona!

Many thanks to the WORLD FOOTBALL Tickets, Messrs. János Szövérfi and Zoltán Bartos for the match tickets.

Many thanks to the colleagues of Comgame "576" kft for their support to help us to realize the wishes.

This wish has been realised from the benefit of the CookingSchool event supported by the Kempinski Hotel Corvinus Budapest.

Such reports are difficult to start, as the trips are always the most exciting at the beginning. Meeting at Ferihegy at 4.15 in the morning promised noting good – I expected tired, crabby kids and grouchy fathers. In contrast with it, I found two brilliant, smiling and exated guys as I met Tamás and Bence. There was no trace of blues, sleeplessness - and certainly not the disease.
And to jump right to the end to summarize one of the most fantastic results of the work of Csodalámpa: it is able to achieve something that neither medicine nor therapy nor doctors can do – it can make the children and moreover their parents forget for a few hours or a few days about the disease of their lives. Even the journey was a special experience, because as it turned out, none of the children had ever gone by air, so from the security check to the duty free shops, every moment meant a whole new world. Then when we left the terminal at Barcelona and we felt in our faces the warmth of 20 C in December (I put it in writing that everyone can understand: a twenty-degree heat), that time we all knew that we would have a great time there.

We took a taxi to get to the hotel, and a few minutes later we were already on the way towards Barcelona's famous zoo. A bit later we found the first orange tree, from which we could get a couple of oranges with the help of a stone – somebody growing up in Hungary can never get used to such an experience...

Soon we managed to get in the famous dolphin show and I have to admit that I – as an adult who has already seen a lot – was also clapping with an open mouth and shining eyes along the program. Kids were full of experiences as we were walking along the palm-lined downtown and we slowly reached the La Rambla (Vaci street of Barcelona), destination of all self-respecting tourists, where you can get everything but really everything. Certainly we were mostly interested in shirts and scarves of Barcelona because we couldn’t go to the evening match wearing simple civil suits...
It was already dark, a few minutes after 7.00 pm when, following the crowd, we arrived at Europe's biggest stadium, the Nou Camp to be held in reverence by Barcelona fans. Thanks to our generous sponsors, we had the opportunity to go into the monumental building, and after walking about 8 floors we reached our places and we could finally see the stadium in its full size. After the match started and Barcelona FC got the first goal - well, I think that was the time when the boys could realize that they were really there. And all their friends were just sitting and watching TV at home as usually, but they were sitting in the stadium...

Barca had another three (!) goals, so the final result was 4:0, which exceeded even the wildest dreams. We were so tired that evening that there was a fear we all would fall asleep in the tiny elevator. But that time we had no idea what kind of experiences would await us next day. We planned our daily program together as the day before and of course nothing could be more important than to return to the scene of the brilliant victory and to pay for a stadium tour. We couldn’t even reach the gate when we got in the official gift shop - there was really everything that a Barca fan could ever desire - and even much more!

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And the highlight of the whole journey arrived - the stadium tour. It was so professional, so rich, so fascinating, as the trip showed us the club’s more than 100 years of history and all the important and interesting moments. I am sure that people who are not interested in football at all, can also enjoy the "sanctuary".

We spent nearly five hours in the stadium - and I can tell you honestly, we all wished we would have more time... but we didn’t have because we didn’t want to miss either the Sagrada Familia nor the beach. So we took the metro again, then we were running, eating, taking photos, laughing a lot and talking about how incredible that they were there: those two boys from Baja and Szombathely, who had already spent hundreds of times in different hospitals than an average man throughtout his life. And now they were running free from care on the sandy beach of Barcelona, leaving their winter clothes at home and talking about the goals that were shot last evening by their favourite football team – in front of their eyes, only a few meters from the place where they were sitting.

This journey was an incredible gift - to the children, their parents - and of course to me too. The Wonder Lamp works, it makes magics, and it is really a miracle - not just fulfilling wishes, but changing lives - and in fact this is the greatest miracle.

Viva Barcelona!

Many thanks to the WORLD FOOTBALL Tickets, Messrs. János Szövérfi and Zoltán Bartos for the match tickets.

Many thanks to the colleagues of GE HEALTHCARE for their support to help us to realize the wishes.

This wish has been realised from the benefit of the CookingSchool event supported by the Grand Hotel Royal Corinthia Budapest.

Our "Christmas story" begun like that: Once upon a time there was an amateur musician whose dream was to give a concert for some good cause. He has found the Csodalámpa Foundation and it became clear for him what to do.
He organized a charity concert with the help of two other young rock groups. He has fulfilled Erik’s wish with the money coming from this special concert.

It was a Saturday when we visited Erik. On the way to Erik Balázs wanted to know how did we arrange the wish granting. When we arrived at Erik’s house a young boy opened the door but we knew immediately that he wasn’t our young „prince”.
Erik appeared a few seconds later with a surgical mask on his face. His eyes were bright as stars. It was obvious he knew why we were there. He soon took possession of the mixing console, which was the subject of his wish.
As a gift, Erik presented us one of his own compositions.

I think two people’s wishes have been fulfilled that day. It was the present for Erik, and of course another present for Balázs, too who could help somebody at last with his rock music. He seemed to plan already his new charity concert in his mind…

All's well that ends well.

Many thanks to Mr. Balázs Károlyi and the members of the rock bands Hetedik Bekezdés Arcadia and Tigroszlán and of course Retro Dragon Tattoo Saloon for their support .

Kristóf just before the match




Many thanks to the WORLD FOOTBALL Tickets, to Messrs János Szövérfi and Zoltán Bartos



Thanks to the management of the [http://www.malev.hu MALÉV> for their support and its passangers, who donated their bonus miles to Csodalámpa, thus making possible Kristóf's trip to Spain.

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Jozsi’s big dream was a real mountain bike. His father told us he fell in love with this bicycle in the summer and has been dreaming about having such a real boylike or even manlike bike since then. He kept looking at the catalogues and was thinking about which one he would like the most. Our staff at Csodalámpa liked this wish since the beginning, because it is such a real desire. I think this is why the students from the upper classes of American International School of Budapest picked out Józsi’s wish

I can say without exaggeration that all the teachers and students of the school were very excited on Wednesday. They were aware that not only one but three children of Csodalámpa would come to the school to introduce themselves, and get to know one another better. As usual, we were warmly welcome. The students sang for us very kindly. We watched a movie about other fulfilled dreams from the past. We could see shining in children’s eyes. There was q big applause, and of course a lot of joy. Józsi, when he saw the beautiful red machinery could not say a word, and was just smiling silently.

The photos will tell who was more suprised, but one thing is sure that all the students sitting in the theatre hall wanted to swing into the saddle when seeing that beautiful bicycle.

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Of course Jozsi prepared for the big day like Ditta Lea did. He baked gingerbread for the students and their teachers. What’s more, all the teachers got an angel made from paper. Józsi and his family hoped the angels would decorate the Christmas tree of the school.

Józsi, we wish you enjoy the bycicle, and ride it a lot at home. Please send us photos sometimes, so the students can share your joy.

The special wish of Lea was a netbook.
To my question, why she picked that, she answered that she has got several brothers but they only have one laptop at home, meaning that she has got less opportunity to learn, read or play on it.

Lea’s wish was fullfilled by the students of the American International School of Budapest.

Naturally this was a surprise, just like the delicious lunch, cakes and almond as well. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that all the students and teachers of the school were excited that day. They were aware that not only one but three children of Csodalampa will visit them to introduce themselves and get to know one another better.

As usual, they were waiting for us with open arms. There was music and nice words. We watched a movie about other wishes fulfilled by AISB students. We could see many bright eyes. There were touched claps and of course much joy.

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You can see it on the picture how happy Lea was, when teacher Marc Lavoie’s studens handed her the beautiful, red netbook.

Lea said thank you for the gift in English, and sang a wonderful song with her father. At the end she handed over a self-made postcard to Marc. In the end of the song every member of the senior class thanked her for the song by standing up.

We hope you recover soon, Lea. Enjoy (sometimes alone too...) your own netbook.

Máté wanted an outdoor playhouse from the Csodalámpa Foundation.

On Saturday, November 12 2011, I arrived with Kim and Theresa, two fantastic teachers of the American International School, to Máté’s family, to fulfil his wish.

The family greeted us with big excitement. The table was already set, pogácsa, sandwiches and cookies were waiting for us. Theresa and Kim presented Máte with a card and many colourful paintings that the students of the American School prepared for him. Then the box was brought in. Máté first was looking suspiciously at the big box, he did not want to believe, that it was hiding his dream house. But then he became excited when he saw the colourful pieces, even grabbed a screwdriver to help his father and Theresa with the assembly.

The house was ready soon, and Máté enthusiastically took possession. He was happily running in and out of the house and waving out of the window.

We were watching him to play for a while, but then it was time for us to leave. We said good-bye sadly to Máté and his family, but the memory of his happy laugh will always remain with us.



We would like to thank to the teachers and students of the American International School and of course to the parents of the students for making this wish come through.

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The four-year old Feri asked for a car-bed from the Csodalámpa Foundation.

On Sunday, November 13 2011, I arrived with Kim and Theresa, two fantastic teachers of the American International School, to Törtel, to the Tóth family, to fulfil the grant Feri’s wish. The family greeted us with big excitement. Luckily Feri had no idea why we were there.

When we wanted to start putting the bed together it turned out that there was a small problem: the box was too big to fit through the door. We had to figure out a plan to distract Feri so we can carry the pieces one by one inside, and put the bed together without him noticing.

The solution was a quick shopping trip to the nearby grocery store. When he got back, the bed was already standing assembled in his room. It took him a few minutes to realize that his wish had come through finally and from now on he would be sleeping in his own car- bed. But soon he was happily playing with the headlights and jumping up and down on the bed.

Theresa and Kim presented Feri with a card and many colourful paintings that the students of the American School prepared for him. Feri took them happily, and spread them on the top of his brand new bed. In the meantime lunchtime arrived, and we were invited to join the family for Sunday lunch. But after the delicious lunch it was time for us to leave. We said good-bye sadly to Feri and his family, but the memory of his happy smile will always remain with us.

We would like to thank to the teachers and students of the American International School and of course to the parents of the students for making this wish come through.

Róbert (10 years old, Gyomaendrõd)

Who would be able to write a better report about this special occasion, then Kinga...

Meeting the Holy Father - Rome, November 2, 2011

We left early in the morning on the regular Malév flight to Rome. Already, the trip taking us to Rome was excellent as we sat in the cockpit, and the pilots took the time to explain how the plane works. We actually stayed in the cockpit until the plane landed. Our hotel in Rome was a gorgeous hotel in the center of the city, where we received fantastic service. The room itself looked like something from a storybook, breakfast was delicious, and the hotel even surprised us with a few treats!

Not long after arriving to the hotel, we headed into the city to see St. Paul’s Basilica, the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major, the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Colosseum, the Saint Stairs, the Spanish Steps and in the evening the Trevi Fountain. I was completely overcome by the sights.

The following morning we left for the Vatican, and after waiting in line for a long time, we made it into the hall for the Pope’s blessing. There were seven thousand people (!) in the hall, and I had the honor of sitting in the very first row, since I had a white entrance ticket.
I’ve saved the ticket and will cherish the memory for as long as I live.

I anxiously awaited the arrival of the Holy Father. When He stepped into the room, I felt an incredible feeling in my heart as it filled with gratitude.
People greeted the Holy Father by cheering, and that’s when I knew my dream was going to come true!
During the audience, the Pope was addressed in several languages and in the name of several organizations. There were groups that even greeted the Holy Father by singing a special song or playing instruments. It was a festive occasion giving me a huge boost.

Following the Papal blessing, the approximately 20 people sitting in the first row were allowed to personally greet the Holy Father. It was deeply touched that I was given this special opportunity meet him directly.

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I kissed the papal ring and exchanged a few words with him, then he drew a cross on my forehead and blessed me after which I gave him my personal gift of a small piece of handwork. I recieved a beautiful rosary from the Holy Father. Several pictures were taken of the meeting; we ordered several copies of the prints. I am overjoyed that these pictures were taken, because they will always remind me of my personal meeting with the Holy Father.

The next day we visited the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica. Everything was stunning as I caught a glimpse of ancient Rome. I was thrilled that we could spend three sight-filled days in Rome, and the weather was perfect! My escorts were very nice and granted every wish I had!

The Holy Father’s blessing is a gift for a lifetime, which I likely would not have received had I not been sick!

Thank you to everyone involved in making my wish come true; I will never forget this experience, it will always fill me with joy.

Kinga

We are grateful for the many ways of support, enabling us to fulfil Kinga's wish. We would like to express our sincere thanks to Mr. Adrian Gray<b/>, to Monsignore Kurian Mathew Vayalunkal, to the management of the Westin Excelsior Hotel and the Malév Hungarian Airlines. Many thanks to the kind members of the Malév Duna Club, whose donantion of their bonus miles made possible Kinga's flight.

We met Zsolt at the Orthopedic Clinic of Budapest.
The plural is correct, az Csilla and Ben, representing the students and teachers of The American International School of Budapest were with me.
Zsolt's wish was a netbook, and his wish was one of the 9 chosen by the student participants of the 6th Walk-the-Wish. The "Walk-the-Wish" is a sponsored walk, organised by the AISB in order to sponsor some "Csodalámpa" wishes.

Zsolt was operated only two days before our arriving. The next day we have asked his mum, wether we could come so near to the operation, but she said yes. Then we gave her a very difficult task: she should keep our coming secret...

Zsolt, knowing nothing, watched TV when Csilla entered his ward with the netbook. We told him who we were, why did we come, and that to grant his wish, 800 student and teacher has joined forces...

Thanks to his mum we could surprise him. After some happy chatting Csilla helped him with the unpacking and the first steps of the setup, as Zsolt could only use one hand, the other being bandaged. He seemingly could manage quite well with the new computer and even the many setup questions of the first startup wasn't a problem for him.

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Ben has brought a sweatshirt of the AISB as an extra present and we were lucky, as the size passed exactly.

Even the nurse on duty turned up, and seeing Zsolt and the netbook, joined to our happiness.

Some more chatting, photos, then we said our goodbyes to Zsolt and his mother, wishing him a fast recovery.

We would like to thank in the name of Zsolt the students and professors of American International School of Budapest for this wonderful present.

Peter was thinking and thinking about what to wish, because there could be so many things ... Such a big boy has many many dreams, but only one wish can be fulfilled by the magic lamp of Csodalámpa.

Her mother, Adrienn said that they were talking a lot and suddenly he just realized that he would like to meet his favourite fairy tale writer, Ms. Erika Bartos "mother of" Bogyó and Babóca in Budapest.
The authoress had already fulfilled a "Csodalámpa" wish, therefore sometimes she visited our web site to know whether she could make someone happy again. So she was quicker than we, when she contacted us.

All of us were looking forward to the meeting, and Peter’s special wish was that he could also take her little sister, Sophie with him.

It was a beautiful day we spent together. Our dear sponsors, employees and managers of the Budapest Art’Otel offered one of their meeting rooms for us. It was cosy furnished, there were a lot of tasty snacks, cookies, gummy candies, cocoa, and many, many Bogyó and Babóca story books and other toys.

Peter and Sophie didn’t know where to look, what to do, particularly when Erika arrived with a lot of story books.
They were talking and telling stories together for several hours. They were also talking about Peter's favourite tales from the series. Then we looked at the pictures of the gift calendar for 2012, we tried to find out from which books the pictures came from. We were also listening to new stories about how Erika's children could feel when they took their family car to the car- wash for the first time.We had a look at the rainbow and we were singing together, then we got to know that Peter’s “most-most-most favourite" story was about the rum cake...

We got tired during the long playing and talking when a fine meal came and to our great suprise the pastry-cook of the hotel made a real Bogyó and Babóca fancy cake. Of course, Peter had to take it home.

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Our dear friend, Ildikó was folding beautiful balloon figures for Sophia and Pete all day, and of course she didn’t forget about Erika’s children. Ladybirds, a giraffe, a turtle, a lion and a rabbit also joined us while we were listening to the stories.

Unfortunately this day and our meeting came to an end but it turned out that Pete made a farewell gift to Erika and her family.
It was a beautiful drawing making on his own: a father tree, a mother tree and children trees. Even two small dolls made of cotton yarn were given to the authoress as a present.

Everybody was very happy and felt that time had passed very quickly. We hope that Peter and his family will remember this meeting for a long time. Once it could happen to meet them in one of the story books of the authoress ...

Many thanks to Ms. Erika Bartos for her kind assistance in making Peter’s dream come true and we are very grateful to the authoress who has fulfilled again a wish of an ill child.
We would like to thank the managers and staff members of the Art’Otel who all were about to make that day a beautiful one. We would also like to thank Ms. Ildikó Kis, we all were delighted at her wonderous balloon figures.

One of Kinga’s greatest wishes was to see a live performance of the "Phantom of the Opera".

Being a life-long fan of musicals, she was aware of the many exciting performances held in the capital's theaters. She had heard of the high praise received by the "Phantom" from friends and for her this musical felt like a natural choice.

So, it was with great anticipation that we got ready for Kinga's attendance. We also wished to surprise her with something special and not normally available to public spectators. Together with the theater directors we arranged to provide Kinga with the opportunity to meet the three main characters after the curtains fell.

Kinga and her family enjoyed the performance enormously with the experience enhanced by being in the privileged position of viewing it from the director’s box.
During the break we were happy to tuck into the tasty drinks and snacks which were served and feeling suitably refreshed we looked forward keenly to the second act.

After the numerous and thoroughly deserved rounds of applause Andrea Mahó greeted us warmly, as 8 years previously Gábor had also the same wish therefore Andrea was already familiar with Csodalámpa.

As a souvenir we presented the actress with a copy of the report from that previous visit. Neither "Raoul" nor the "Phantom" were left empty-handed either - thanks to the expert confectioners of Szamos Confectionery all three were presented with reproductions of the famous mask crafted from marzipan together with a red rose.

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Kinga was in turn presented with the original mask from the play as a gift from the theater.

We feel confident that this wonderful evening will have given strength to Kinga on her journey to recovery as well as encouraging her to become a lifelong fan of theater.

We would like to thank the directors, actors and staff of Madách Theatre for their help and support in making Kinga’s wish come true.

Fanni is a lovely and pretty teenager. She wished to see and have first hand experience on the making of an international film. As a grownup she intends to work in the film industry. She is preparing hard for this, she knows quite a lot about films, media and already speaks German and English.
We asked her to write down in English why this is her wish and what exactly she hopes to see at a film shooting.

We made a little "conspiracy" with her parents in order to surprise her: she had no idea, why on earth shall they meet us Tuesday morning outside of Miskolc and why are we travelling to Kassa. Her parents told her only, that she should come in order to clear a few points concerning her wish.
Of course, arriving in Kassa we told her the truth, that just after lunch she would meet the producer of the film "Until the end of times" Mr. Howard Ellis.

He soon arrived with two of his colleagues, After the introductions they told Fanni, that she is in for quite some surprises: she can meet many of the actors, the production manager and many other "insiders". She can see the shooting itself, meet the makeup people, the costume designers - in short whatever she wishes...

Fanni then gave Mr. Ellis the letter explaining why-s and what-s and thanked him his kindness and help. Mr. Ellis then asked her, what did she think the most interesting and her answer was: "everything".

Our tour started at the St. Cathrine church. We took our time at the shooting of one scene: after the crumbling of a stone bridge (this scene was shot somewhere else), the walk on actor's task was to care for the wounded. Of course the wounded people were also walk on actors.
They were sprinkled with water all the time: they were expected to be soaked as they were just pulled out from the river. The makeup crew worked hard to create wounds on their arms, faces, and in between they practiced their short, few sentences long roles. They were a crowd of around 200...

Fanni was seeming enchanted by the shooting and all the information she got: who, what and how should solve, who should be ready for action and where, the makeup should put more mud on the face of this or that actor, who should and how cry...

We could follow the whole procedure of the preparations and the shooting itself and then we were allowed to wander around the area as well. Then we were shown the mobile homes, the tents and met a few dozen people from the crowd actors as well.

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To our big surprise we recognised among the actors Mr. Argus Filch, the somber mood caretaker of Hogwarts from the Harry Potter films -Mr. David Bradley. Mr. Bradley even kindly let us shot a common picture with Fanni. Was this the magic lamp's magic?!?

Then we took our time with the makeup team - Fanni too got pretty makeup, and she was given an official pass that allowed her to enter the premises of the shooting. We could only thank many times all the people we met, they were so kind, answered patiently Fanni's questions...

After a while we needed some rest, so we drunk some hot chocolate in a nearby sweets shop.

This gave enough strength to Fanni to join again the film crowd and "check" the situation. As a souvenir she got a coin too.

We said our goodbyes and thank you-s late afternoon to the film makers, a bit tired but very happy. We expressed our thanks to Mr. Howard Ellis and his crew - without his support it would have been almost impossible to make Fanni's wish come true.

We wish Fanni a fast recovery and that in a few years time we should meet her as a professional at another film shooting.

Many thanks to Mr. Howard Ellis and his colleagues for the kind help in realising Fanni's wish an to Ms. Maria Kocsis of Budapest Marriott Hotel, without whose kind support we would have never met Mr Ellis.

Even the sun was happily smiling on Sunday when Vanesssa finally saw her wish to spend a day in Vidámpark (Budapest Theme Park) with her family come through. Vanessza and her brother Norbi were hardly to contain their excitement when we met at the main entrance of Vidámpark.

Krisztina, an employee of Vidámpark was already waiting for us with seven free tickets, courtesy of Vidámpark.
Soon Theresa and Kim - teachers at the American International School of Budapest, charged by their students to grant Vanessza’s wish - arrived as well. They presented Vanessza with a huge poster, prepared by the students.

After happily admiring her card, Vanessza was ready to head over to the first ride, the dodgem. After that came the cave ride, the jungle ride, the mirror labyrinth, and many more. Her favourite was the jungle ride, she made it three times. Norbi was very brave and adventurous and tried all the scary flying rides.

The day flew by way too quickly, and it was almost time to leave, when Norbi finished with a last ride on the dodgem. Then we wank over to the pony park, where Vanessza enjoyed a ride on a very cute pony. Exhausted from all the fun we finally sat down at a nearby restaurant to finish the day off with a delicious dinner.

We would like to thank Krisztina one more time for being so nice and helpful and for making this day extra special for everybody.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the management and staff of the Budapesti Vidám Park Zrt. and the pupils and teachers of the American International School of Budapest for making Vanessza's wish granting so unforgettable.

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János is 13, and his favourites are locomotives and the railway.
He’d like to become an engine-driver one day. János wishes to see locomotives, to visit railway stations where engines come and go, to see lots of rails, but the real dream, his “big-biggest dream” of all, as he puts it, is to drive a locomotive.

And a dream came true again.

We arranged a meeting with Janesz’s mother at the Tiszai Railway Station, in Miskolc. Little did he know about the reason why he was travelling to Budapest. It was Budapest indeed, as we had been planning Janesz’s wish with Csodalámpa for weeks, which was to get him to the Museum of Railway History to see engines and to be able to actually drive one.

“Uncle Steve,” a Csodalámpa volunteer, was waiting for us at the Keleti Railway Station, and took us to the Ferencváros shunting yard, where Janesz had the chance to admire all of the passenger and cargo trains and the many rails crossing each other at the station. Seeing all these miracles, he looked down from the overpass staring at the endless fields of rails. That’s why he was shocked when an engine which was passing below the overpass blew its whistle!

He fell upon Uncle Steve’s neck in fear.
It was then when he confessed his long-held dream of blowing a locomotive whistle!

Leaving the wonder of the overpass behind us, we then went into a workshop where trains are repaired.
The boy was welcomed warmly, and he was clearly amazed at the sight. He liked the workshop itself and the workers as well.

We went to another place, where, according to Janesz, the trams “sleep”. It was the Ferencváros Tram Shed.
By this time, he was very happy and was thanking us for bringing him to such magnificent places.

The real surprise was yet to come!
We took a taxi and went to the Museum of the Railway History with him and his mother.

The little boy just stood there with his mouth open at the sight of those locomotives and almost cried when he was put into one of the engines, which he could actually drive. Finally, a long-held dream came true: the young engine-driver managed to sound a train’s whistle.

They allowed him to do it despite it being prohibited because of the people living nearby!
But seriously, with Csodalámpa... ! Even us adults stood there tearfully when Janesz got down from the engine.
The day’s schedule was not over yet though.

After lunch, in the Museum of Scale Models, Janesz looked at the books on locomotives with interest and desire.
And Csodalámpa couldn’t let him leave with empty hands; he happily cuddled the gift books and DVD.
We did some rail biking later on. Janos couldn’t take part in pushing the railcar, which operates through man power, but wanted to give a hand to Uncle Steve, who was struggling with the connecting-rod.

After this, we climbed up onto each and every locomotive and travelled on the museum’s small train as well, which was quite fun.
It was good to see this little boy gathering all of his strength, defeating his inhibitions, and climbing into the locomotives, not paying any attention whatsoever to the fact that his hands and clothes had become covered with black oil.
He was scared, he later admitted! He was scared of heights, and scared of falling off. But at the sight of every single locomotive, he managed to get up from his wheelchair, ready for a new adventure.

We said good bye to the Museum, with time left over, before going home. Uncle Steve had one more surprise for Janesz.
He showed the little boy the House of Parliament, and took the metro underneath the Danube to the Buda side.
The boy enjoyed taking the escalator very much, and could not resist trying to look cool while getting on and off.
Nothing was forbidden for him, yet we adults had to watch him even more closely. This was true for the whole day.

At the end of the day, Janesz couldn’t stop thanking us for making his “biggest dream” a reality, and in addition, for giving him so many experiences.

Dear János, We hope that by making your “big-biggest dream” come true, Csodalámpa was able to give you many lovely hours and nice memories. We who carried out your wish thank you for the time we were able to spend with you and that we were able to be a part of your joy, your smile and your happiness.

We thank the management of the Museum of Railway History for letting us use the facility for free, turning Janos’s dream into reality.

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Dalma waited for her Paris travel very much.
After arrival on Thusday we went immediately to the Concord Square and later we walked along Champs Elysees. French people were sitting and drinking coffee on the terraces of coffee bars and restaurants at 11 o'clock in the evening. They enjoyed the last warm summer evenings at the end of September.
We also enjoyed the atmosphere of the Parisian bustle of the streets. It was so on the following two days, too.

We started the next day at the Eiffel-Tower. The "Old Lady" was amazing! We went on foot from here to the Museum Louvre. We went from one gallery into the next where we admired the famous and less famous paintings.
We did not stop although we were very tired. We sat down for a short time in front of Mona Lisa and Venus of Milo. They were fantastic!

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The Arc de Triomphe and the Notre Dame remembered us Victor Hugo. Panthéon with Victor Hugo's and Zola's resting-places fastinated us. We should mention the fantastic Sacré-Coeur and the beautiful palaces and churches, too.

We did not miss the world famous Lafayette Department Store. We made a short walk there. We tasted the French cuisine naturally. We found very good restaurants in the Latin quater.

We returned home with a heavy heart on the third day. I am sure Dalma will return again to Paris.

Dalma's wish was fulfilled from the benefit of our Grant-A-Wish Kitchen program.
Thanks for the support of Libri kft. and Libri Publishing Co., and that of Budapest Marriott Hotel.
Dalma says thanks to everybody who helped her realising her dream.

I met Tamara and her mother at the Liszt Ferenc airport on the 21st of September, and I immediately knew the trip was going to be unforgettable.

We went through the security gates and waited for the plane’s departure. Tamara and her mother took pictures of every plane that passed by because as I later found out both of them were a huge fans of flying, so for them the flight itself was already amazing.

When we arrived at London Luton airport, we could feel the cold autumn air, so we decided to take a „classical” English taxi to our hotel. We arrived late at night so we decided to keep our energy for the following day and for of course the concert. We started our day with a big English breakfast, and then headed towards the Big Ben and London eye.

In the afternoon we went back to the hotel to take a short nap and to refresh our self before the big event.

There was a warm up band which itself was fantastic, but when Avril Lavigne came on stage the atmosphere was unbelievable. We were very pleased because luckily she played many of her older songs, so after a while we stud up and danced together, while singing all the lyrics of the songs. Later that night we got home nearly at midnight and went to bed absolutely exhausted.

The following day also brought great experiences, we went to the Madame Tussaud wax museum were naturally we took pictures of every single famous person, then spent the afternoon window shopping on Oxford street, and finally had a wonderful tea in a restaurant on Trafalgar square.

On the following day unfortunately we had to go to the airport so we could only view the city from the bus and train. Overall I can only say what a wonderful and memorable four days we spent in London, while Tamara`s dream came true, because she got to go to her favourite singer Avril Lavigne`s concert! It gave me great joy to see Tamara`s happiness and enthusiasm.

Rita and her mother arrived to Budapest from Tatárszentgyörgy. Rita’s face showed only interest and anticipation and there was no trace of the tiredness from the early rise. Thus, we went from the bus terminal straight to Budaörs Airport.

Our pilot had not yet arrived, and thus we had time for a thorough look at a repair shop. Nearly the whole history of flying was crammed into the small hangar, from open cockpit biplanes to little two-person helicopters. Of course, most of the aircraft were modern small airplanes.

There were some planes on display outdoors as well, and the cockpit of one of them had been converted into a snack bar. Since it was closed, Rita was only able to look inside through the window; she saw beer bottles at the place where the flight instruments had been.

Gábor Földvári, the pilot who had kindly offered us the opportunity to fly, arrived after a short while. He checked the plane quickly but thoroughly. Then the passengers got in and we took off, beginning our flight toward Budapest. From up high we saw the Parliament building and the bridges on the Danube. Flying above the bend of the river, we looked down and saw the small houses in Szentendre and Visegrád, and then the plane flew back to Budaörs via Solymár.

Rita and her mother got out of the plane with smiles on their faces – they were enriched by a great experience. Furthermore, Gábor Földvári was happy to show the details of his plane (a Zlin 43 manufactured in the Czech Republic) to Rita, who has a keen interest in technology.

The flying adventure ended with a lunch, but Rita’s enthusiasm seemed limitless. She kept retelling her experiences over and over again, and she most likely continued doing so until the bus took her and her mother back to their home.

We would like to express our gratitude to the West-End Air Team for their kind support.

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